R2 THE IRISH TIMES 2 Soccer Fifa World Cup 2018 Saturday,July 7,2018 Quarter-finals my friend remember the moment was that land-hating neighbours. Or maybe it impression of an era on the skids. The SidelineCut he happened to be sitting close to an caused him to become chair of his local book is extremely funny and extremely English family who had the misfortune to Brexit committee. sad. As Brown says towards the end of it, ‘It be watching the game in the same pub. This summer the same sentiment is is Cinderella in reverse. It is hope dashed, Their little boy, no more than ten, was beginning to bubble to the surface. happiness mislaid, life mishandled. Keith visibly shocked by the unsparing venom on Whenever an England football team Nothing is as thrilling as they said it would display towards his team, his country. threatens to win atournament, Ireland be, no one is as amusing, as clever, as When Germany’s Andreas Moller buckled panics. Ireland spent 800 years trying to The little lad was beyond attractive or as interesting’. England with that unforgettably arrogant get rid of the English and, once achieved, confusion and in tears. Duggan penalty of his, the pub, my friend says, spent the next few decades obsessing Gentledisappointment “erupted in joy”. The little lad was beyond about how to feel about England. “Why do they hate us, All of ‘England’ seems packed into those confusion and in tears. “Why do they hate It’s understandable because the vast Dad?” he asked. few lines; the scope, the class system, the us, Dad?” he asked. majority of Irish people from the age 70 ‘‘ sense of an era in decline; dear old Desert Well, son.... down have been blitzed with English pop Well, son.... Island Discs,the gentle disappointment Fate of England Irang my friend on Friday morning to and cultural references and heroes and with it all. see how he was fixed at the thought of voices for all of their lives. And what has summed up English ‘hope England winning the World Cup on Tens of thousands went to work in about England that the imperial impulse is dashed’ –again and again and again –over team continues to be Sunday week. He actually lives fairly close English cities, made families and settled; just taking anap. England football teams the past 40-plus years more than the to England nowadays, in Liverpool. many thousands have been educated in act as akind of pulse checker. The further England football team? In Ireland, in a He was in full agreement that there is English universities. Kate Bush, Hillary they advance, the more loudly Ireland heatwave now, comes the latest test of how something different about this England Mantel, Grange Hill, Blackadder,the believes it can hear the tone of Cecil ‘we’ feel about it all: are we ready to forgive Ireland’s dark obsession side, that the old bovver boy element Beatles, the Busby Babes, Richmal Comp- Rhodes and the brassy triumphalism of and forget and just allow apretty de- seems absent and that Gareth Southgate, ton, Robert Smith, Julie Christie, Withnail Rule Britannia. cent-seeming bunch of footballers to end their bespoke coach, seems incapable of and I,Brighton Rock, Goldilocks, Top of During the frenzy of Royal Family the years of hurt? uttering agraceless remark or behaving the Pops,Ted Hughes, Panorama,the interest generated by the Harry-Meghan Are we grown up enough now to with anything other than class. Talk Ford Cortina. ..England’s touchstones romance and the success of The Crown, acknowledge that many of us live in friend of mine spent afew weeks in their homecoming tournament. turned to that little English boy in the pub. have crowded the Irish imagination for Craig Brown’s Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimps- England, have found England’s cities to be the summer of 1996 tumbling Things began to get serious when they generations and will continue to do so. es of Princess Margaret was published. brilliant places and spend so many of our through Galway pubs watching the beat adoughty Swiss team, causing one Irelandpanics Countless Irish boys and girls grew up “It is acollage, montage or bricolage of idle hours lost in English words and A European football championships. aggrieved punter watching the fare in My friend had, in the back of his mind, felt adoring Bowie or Damon or Amy; count- glittery bits culled from two hundred English music? Naturally, he didn’t miss an England Myles Lee’s pub to stand up and channel kind of bad about that night. But, the place less others spending their Saturdays biographies, authorised and unauthor- “I know, Iknow,” my friend and several game and every time El Tel’s boys played, Ciarán Fitzgerald as he bellowed at the was heaving and the night was great fun. agonising over the fortunes of the Leeds or ised, written by cashiered gossip column- others agreed. “I don’t mind if they beat anti-imperial sentiment ran high across television: “Where’s yer f**ken pride, England had gone out on penalties. They the Arsenal or Man United or whoever. ists and treacherous butlers and chauf- Sweden. But what if they..... win it?” the counter-tops; this was, remember, a Switzerland?” were disconsolate. It was summertime. And nothing much has changed. The feurs, plus odds and ends such as the The England football team remains little over ayear since the Lansdowne By the time England played Germany in What could be better? He knew that deep Premier League rules the waves. Count- complete transcript of the princess’s Ireland’s dark obsession. riots. the semi-final, every place in town was down there was something abit disturbed less Irish are hooked on Love Island this Desert Island Discs and the catalogue of The strange thing is that the English, It was the usual Irish pastime of follow- packed and my friend ended up in apub in about the emotional investment involved summer; how many Irish have her jewellery, sold after her death for £9 almost unanimously well-disposed ing England’s progression through a which the atmosphere was one of loathing in seeing England crushed. But he also binge-watched The Crown on Netflix? million,” summarised Ferdinand Mount in towards the Irish (at least since the bombs major football tournament in akind of at the thought of an England success. knew it was real. All very well, but what about Cromwell, areview which adds this brilliant passage: stopped exploding in their cities) have no appalled fascination with the thought that When the game went to penalties, every The little English lad would be in his comes the argument. “The effect is like one of those sweeping idea that the Irish feel like this. That’s they might somehow win the thing –and German score was greeted as if the future early30s now. Maybe he has long forgot- And it’s true. The bogey man in all his Klimt portraits, in which the comet trail of because they never stop to think twice England were pretty good that summer, of mankind depended on it. What made ten about his evening spent with Eng- guises lurks deep. There is always afear colourful fragments leaves alasting about the Irish. They think it’s all over. Uruguay vFrance Sweden vEngland England fans dash to Russia for Swedish game been off the drink all week and Martha trying to get eight hours’ sleep anight because Iwon’t be Kelner and sleeping at all.” Waters, th echief financial Shaun Walker officerofasmall consultancy firm, saidithad costhim inSamara £1,700intotal, “soit’sbeenex- pensive but it’s achance to see Englandin the quarter-final of Unexpected aWorld Cup and that doesn’t release of tickets come about very often.” Some fans had paid up to prompts some double the face valuefor tick- to go to extreme ets from touts,believing there werenone still available lengths to see tie through official channels but then Fifa unexpectedly re- leased 2,000 moreonThurs- England fans have been mak- day night. While ticketsare ingalast-minute dash to Rus- easier to come by than expect- sia for the World Cup quar- ed,there isalmost noavailabil- ter-finalagainst Sweden after ity on Russian internal flights. it emerged their side’s biggest Russian Railways announced game for 12 years could be it wouldput on an extra ser- played in front of thousands of vice for fans travelling from empty seats. Moscowtothe country’s sixth There were plenty of tickets largestcity,althoughbyyester- availablefor the match in Sa- day there was no availability maraonthe Fifawebsite yes- on trains either. terday,butashortageofavaila- ble flights and accommoda- Last-minuteplans tionwas causing aheadache Tom Blackwell, aMos- for supporters. cow-based fan, said he had Some have gone to extreme madelast-minuteplans totrav- lengths to ensure they will be el from the Russian capital to in the crowd for England’s at- Samara, spending £600 on tempt to reach the semi-finals the 80-minute flight. for the firsttime since1990. Even if England go as far as Chris Waters is one of about thefinalonJuly 15th, Samara 100Englandfanswhowaspre- will be the last trip outside the paring to catch achartered capital for supporters as both flight fromStansted airportat the potential semi-final and France fail to dazzle but 6am this morning, travel thefinalwillbeplayed atLuzh- 1,250 miles to Samara for the niki stadium. match and get straightback On Thursday night, strains on the planetoreturn by 1am of Three Lions could be heard on Sunday. comingfrom abar on the Vol- gaembankment,apleasantpe- easily see off Uruguay Five-hourflight destrianised area in Samara “It’s afive-hour flight so we with asandy beach on the land four hoursbeforethe banks of the river.